The Naturus Revenge
by Aras
Summary: A new DADA teacher has caught the attention of our favorite potions master. Reposted!! (Rating may increase later on)
1. Nighttime Activities

Her velvety cape flowed in the breeze as she walked quickly and quietly down the corridor on the third floor. The once forbidden corridor remained empty and deserted, even years after the destruction of the Philosopher's Stone. The only thing that was down this hall was the monstrous creature that was entrusted with being the guard of the entrance that ran down to the once important dungeon.  
  
As she approached the door, she turned from her usual quick and quiet walk to a cautious one. She felt as if someone was following her down the hallway, but Hagrid and Mr. Filch should not be arriving with Fluffy's food for another 15 minutes.  
  
Taking a quick glance back and seeing no one in her company, she pushed the door open carefully. She had to be careful. Even though Fluffy was not a danger to her, when first entering the room, the creature always began growling. As usual, it did, but quickly stopped once it realized who was entering its domain.  
  
Thinking that she heard something, Professor Alabaster quickly took another look back, making her own movements and breath still and quiet. She just couldn't shake the feeling that someone was behind her, but again she saw nothing, and heard nothing more. Thinking that it was just the wind against the castle from the storm outside, she returned her attentions to the enormous canine before her, who began to whimper for her attentions.  
  
Professor Snape was glancing over at Professor Alabaster, being quite careful as to not be discovered. If she knew he was spying on her, she may become even angrier with him than he was convinced she already was.  
  
Just before the beginning of the new school year, Professor Snape had, again, missed out on the Defense Against the Dark Arts post. He was angry at not getting the job once again, and became even angrier when he saw who did receive it. She walked in that first day, Professor Kya Alabaster. She couldn't have been much older than 20, and he had more experience in defending against the dark arts than she had in anything, or so he thought. Without finding out about Professor Alabaster's qualifications and experience, he began to act in a way that would give her no doubt in her mind that he loathed her. He had even gone as far as criticizing her in front of students, which helped to create enough chaos in her class a week earlier to cost Slytherin house 50 points, care of Draco Malfoy.  
  
After taking the points from the Slytherin's, and giving Draco a punishment he would surely never forget, she approached Professor Snape in his office. Rather, she forced her way into his office:  
  
**Begin Flashback**  
  
"Professor Snape!" She said, every word dropped with a hint of malice.  
  
"Professor Alabaster." Snape sneered at her. "Would you be so kind as to tell me why you feel the need to invade my personal space?"  
  
"Only if you would be so kind as to explain your comments to those damn Slytherins of yours."  
  
"Excuse me. I do not believe that I need to explain myself to you."  
  
"You insufferable bastard!" Snape's head shot up. "I do not believe you. I would think that a man such as yourself would be professional enough to at least act grown up in front of your charges."  
  
"Who the hell do you think you are questioning my professi-" He began, but she interrupted.  
  
"Do you honestly think that your behaviour was acceptable?" He opened his mouth, setting the cringe factor in his voice to max, but was stopped by a wave of her hand.  
  
"Never mind. I know what your answer would be." She stopped and thought for a moment. "You know, I've never liked you that much. But at least I had the respect for you to not go and prance the fact about in front of my students. Do you have any idea how much harder you have made my job?!? It's hard enough with the students thinking that I'm young enough to not mind having absolute chaos in the classroom. It took me WEEKS to get them to calm down and work on their lessons. But your snide comments to a few students created absolute ruckus in my class today."  
  
He kept quiet. She knew exactly what his problem was, though it was pretty obvious to most everyone. But he had never realized that it not only bothered him, but her as well.  
  
"You have ruined in a few seconds what took me much, much longer to fix. I hope you enjoyed yourself." She said, turning, and heading towards the door. "I know Mr Malfoy, however, did not enjoy the points I took from him, nor will he enjoy the detention that he has tonight."  
  
**End Flashback**  
  
She had caught him completely off guard. Never did he expect that someone like her would gain enough courage to do what she had done. Some of the things she said to him stuck in his mind. She made points that could not be ignored. To sum it up, she had called him unprofessional and immature. And she was right - even though she had felt this way for quite awhile, she had always given him the respect to not go and parade about it in front of his students. He could not argue with that, although he tried.  
  
Convinced that she had gone to Professor Dumbledore immediately after, he approached the headmaster in his chambers and began to defend himself, without even realizing that this was the first that Professor Dumbledore had heard about it.  
  
Professor Dumbledore, quite intrigued by this confession began a lecture of his own. Stating that Professor Snape had not given Professor Alabaster a chance, he said in his usual calm voice, "You really should get to know her. She is quite the character."  
  
Knowing how angry Professor Alabaster was with him, he chose to try and let her anger die down. Seeing her around the castle late at night on their rounds, he would stop and say hello, but she would simply walk by him without a glance. She was very angry with him. And he could see that she was probably just as stubborn as he himself was. He decided to try and sneak an invisibility cloak that he confiscated from Harry Potter and put it to some use. He knew he would eventually return it once Professor Dumbledore found out that he had taken it away from Potter.  
  
He spotted her once again in a corridor, the same one he had seen her in for weeks, at the same time, almost every night, and followed her down it. He had hoped that she would not notice, but her last two glances made him stop. After he was sure that she had given up her short-lived search for the invisible stranger behind her, he crept up into the room after her and watched her quietly.  
  
She approached the dog quietly and gave a comforting hand out for Fluffy to sniff. The canine did so and gave a loud, though soft sigh. She approached the middle head of the three-headed dog and began petting and patting it affectionately. She enjoyed this quiet time. It was a relaxing end to her day.  
  
Than she began hearing voices outside the door and knew that Hagrid and Mr. Filch were approaching with food for the beast. Still giving Fluffy some of her attention, she watched the door as the large form of Hagrid stepped through it, followed by the smaller figure of Mr. Filch.  
  
"What took you two so long?" she asked.  
  
Professor Snape watched and listened to her. It was the first time in days that he heard her voice without the harshness in her tone. She avoided speaking with him as much as she could.  
  
"One o' the Hippogriffs got inta the food a bit. 'ad to chase it away," Hagrid explained.  
  
The three of them began to feed Fluffy in their usual way. Professor Snape watched. He noticed the careful way in which she handled the beast. Fluffy appeared to be of no harm to her, but she seemed to be somewhat cautious. Rightfully so - the beast would take a good chunk out of you if it wanted to.  
  
She approached the corner he was watching from after Fluffy had been fed and reached for a toothbrush behind him. He moved out of the way quietly, but left a breeze that made Professor Alabaster stop for a moment. He kept still as she momentarily listened, and was relieved when she once again resumed her activities.  
  
"Did you two see anything as you were coming up here?" she asked the two men.  
  
"On'y Argus' cat. Bu' she's always around with Filchy," Hagrid said with a hearty laugh. "You get used to her eventually!"  
  
Professor Alabaster smiled, but said nothing more.  
  
After they finished their nightly grooming of the great canine, the three left the room, with the invisible Professor Snape following behind them. They soon split up to go to their separate chambers and Professor Snape followed close behind Professor Alabaster. He had always wondered why she was up so late, and wanted to find out how late.  
  
Rather than going to her chambers, Professor Alabaster continued on to the entrance hall and out the front doors quietly. The storm had stopped. She walked through the grounds, taking in the spectacular sights of Hogwarts. After strolling for about a half hour, she returned to the castle, and walked towards her chambers. Professor Snape hurried to get ahead of her before she rounded the next corner, and threw off the cloak. Acting as if he were making his nightly rounds, he approached the corner, and waited for her to come around.  
  
He waited.  
  
And waited.  
  
Finally, he went to see what was taking her so long, only to bump into her.  
  
"Why are you following me, Snape?" She asked, voice tight with anger.  
  
"And what, pray tell, makes you believe that I would waste my time following yourself, Professor?" He said, making her title sound like an insult.  
  
"I don't know who you think you're fooling, Snape. You followed me up to the third floor, you followed me back down and outside on the grounds. I have a very sensitive nose, and can smell you coming a mile away." She said.  
  
"You should get that nose of your cleared up than, Alabaster." He said, trying to convince her with his sarcasm that she was mistaken. "I have more important things to do."  
  
With that comment, he swept by her, ignoring the glare she shot at his back before returning to her own quarters.  
  
  
  
A/N: This is a reposting of "The Naturus Revenge". I took down the original on December 21, and decided to put a few more things into it.  
  
Thank you to all those who reviewed the original:  
  
Redstrawberry: I'm trying to add more character to Snape; there was someone else who commented on it, but I haven't been able to find who it was.  
  
Nemesys: I agree that the slapping thing is unprofessional for a teacher, but in my plan at the moment, it serves a purpose. Plans may change, but you do have a point.  
  
If anyone else has a comment, please review; I really love to hear any suggestions from you. 


	2. Short Conversations

Professor Snape was already at breakfast when Professor Alabaster arrived. Though she didn't sit near him, she always passed by, giving a smile and a pleasant "Good Morning" to nearly all the faculty. She deliberately passed her eyes over the spot he was sitting at.  
  
She sat down next to Hagrid, who gave her a joyful pat on the back. Hagrid and Professor Alabaster were always such good friends and were always laughing about the good times they had when Professor Alabaster was a Hogwarts student.  
  
Professor Snape could see her very clearly now. She had shoulder-length brown hair, which she always let flow down and loose. Eyes that changed colour with her moods. He was amazed to see that they turned almost black when she was angry. She wore a blue velvet dress with her usual black robe, and she never wore makeup.  
  
He was still moping about the fact that she was chosen over him to get the Defense Against the Dark Arts post. There must be some way to prove her incompetence in the field. She couldn't possibly compare to him; after all, his years spying on Voldemort and the Death Eaters should be proof enough of his experience. So why would the Headmaster choose her over him? He would need to find out.  
  
After breakfast was done, the students and faculty went to their respective classes. Today was Thursday, and Professor Alabaster's class was held in the dungeon next to his. He watched her leave to go to her class and followed close behind. At least he had an excuse to follow her. He listened as she entered the class and requested calm so she could begin right away. Though she seemed soft and irresponsible, he was intrigued by the way that she would take charge and change into someone who was so efficient when it came to work. He usually heard good things about her lessons, and many of her students loved her. She liked to teach in more of a practical manner, rather than get tied up in a lot of theory. This was one of the things he criticized about her, but had later found out that the theory work was usually what she assigned for homework, allowing her students to find as much information as they could.  
  
He glided into his class - seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins. Many of the Gryffindors cringed under his gaze as he approached the podium in the front of the class. With a wave of his hand, the class notes appeared on the board, and he began his lecture.  
  
"Today, we will be working on the Allergen. It is a potion designed to prevent the drinker from having an allergic reaction, and has prevented many deaths as a result. It has also caused some. Anyone hazard a guess why?" He drawled the question.  
  
As usual, Hermione Granger's hand shot up, and as usual he ignored it. "Anyone?"  
  
Her hand remained in the air, the only one. Snape was in a mood today, and that only meant. . .  
  
"Mr Longbottom!" Nevill nearly jumped out of his seat at being called. "Why has this potion also caused death?"  
  
Neville looked up at him, shaking quite visibly, before answering, "Be- becau-se when b-brewed imp-prop-perly, it can actually be a d-deadly p-p- poison." He stuttered, to everyone's amazement. "S-sir."  
  
Snape almost looked as surprised as the rest of the class, and muttered under his breath, "Correct."  
  
Just then, Professor Alabaster appeared in the doorway. She knocked, and Professor Snape looked up. Draco Malfoy saw who it was and gave an unimpressed huff. Professor Alabaster glanced at Draco, and than turned her attentions to Professor Snape.  
  
"Would I be able to borrow Miss Granger for a moment, Professor?" she said in a very serious voice that said that she was still mad, but couldn't get around talking to him.  
  
"I suppose." Professor Snape said, with a wave of his hand, trying to make it sound like his usual mutter to her from before the past events.  
  
Usually Hermoine was annoyed with being interrupted in her classes, but she wasn't too thrilled with having to be in the same room with Professor Snape, as many Gryffindor's felt the same, and she knew that if she had any problems, Professor Alabaster would take time out to help her.  
  
He turned his attention to the other students, and snapped as he pointed to the directions written on the board, "The rest of you get started!"  
  
Professor Snape faced away from the class, annoyed that Professor Alabaster was still angry with him. When Hermoine returned a few moments later, he asked her, "What was so important to the great Professor Alabaster that she had to interrupt my class?"  
  
Hermoine looked up at Professor Snape and explained, "There was some important information about the tutoring program she started that I had to know, and she couldn't get a hold of me any other time."  
  
Professor Snape knew about the program and knew why he wasn't asked to help out. He asked her, just to try and make her feel guilty for not including him. Professor Alabaster told him straight out that since many of the students were quite uncomfortable around him, they would not be able to learn the material any better in a one on one session. Not that he would have been a willing participant.  
  
Although he was still annoyed by this statement and the fact that she didn't care that he may have wanted to help some of the students (Yeah! Right!), that was one thing he had always respected about Professor Alabaster. She never danced around the truth. She was almost always straightforward and honest, unless she couldn't otherwise be. This respect for her hadn't stopped him from criticizing her, but it was the one thing he remembered saying that was complimentary to her. Perhaps this program was the reason for Longbottom's uncharacteristic correct answer in class.  
  
Professor Snape finished up his class for the day. He had the rest of the day to do whatever he felt like doing. He went to his office where he could continue work on a potion that he had been fighting with for weeks. He was trying to find a potion, when thrown into the air, would form a shielding that was nearly impenetrable. Looking over all his calculations and redoing them again and again, he could not figure out why his potion was not coming together. He couldn't make out a single error in his findings, yet this potion was stubbornly failing again and again. After almost 2 hours, he finally couldn't take anymore for the day. Leaving his caldron over the now extinguished fire, he vacated his office to try and clear his mind.  
  
~@~  
  
The weather couldn't have been better that day. The sun was shining, and there was a breeze that made the temperature very comfortable. It was odd that it was not very humid, considering the storm from the night before. He walked along the grounds and spotted some of the students from his house, nodded at them, and continued. He came to the lake nearby and spotted Professor Alabaster leaning against a tree, reading her book.  
  
Professor Alabaster often enjoyed these days. He had often seen her out on the grounds reading and looking out beyond the skyline, almost as if she were looking for something.  
  
As he observed the young woman, a sudden idea came to him.  
  
He approached her with caution. Not wanting to disrupt her pleasant mood, he was hoping they could speak of the events from the week before.  
  
He stood over her, looking down, and in a smooth voice, which surprised her, he said, "Enjoying the day?"  
  
She turned from her book, annoyed that she had been interrupted in what looked like the most interesting part of the story, and looked at him. Not wanting to spoil her mood, she simply stated that she was and went back to her book.  
  
"I couldn't help but notice that you always seem to be reading under this particular tree. Why is that?" The question surprised him. Never before had he given any indication that he paid much attention to her activities.  
  
"It's just quieter here. The shade, the breeze from the lake. Perfect for reading." She seemed to not have even noticed the question, but simply stated the answer.  
  
"Mind if I join you?" Professor Snape asked cautiously, than added, "I promise not to act, what was it again? Ah yes, unprofessional and immature."  
  
"That statement alone just broke your promise." Professor Alabaster said, looking up at him as if he had just thrown her words back at her and not taken her seriously at all.  
  
"I didn't mean it in that way. Is it alright if I join you?" Professor Snape hoped that this statement sounded sincere to her. He wanted to get back to speaking terms.  
  
"You don't need my permission. Do what you like." Professor Alabaster said. She was hoping she could get back to the story without further interruption.  
  
Professor Snape took it as some sort of permission, and was relieved that she seemed to finally be cooling down, though still upset with him. He sat on the ground, leaning against the same tree overlooking the lake. It surprised him that it was, indeed, very relaxing. He took in the breeze and didn't notice when some Slytherin's walked by, amazed that he was sitting on the ground, and beside a former Gryffindor. They, however, did not bother Professor Snape. He had a certain respect from them that made sure they knew not to question what he did.  
  
After about ten minutes, Professor Alabaster closed her book, sighed, and looked out towards the hills and forest. She seemed to be in deep thought, yet relaxed. Finally, she turned to Professor Snape, "What time is it?"  
  
Professor Snape looked at her a moment. He was amazed that she had spoken to him in such a casual tone. He than turned and said "Three."  
  
"I should go have a snack. I missed lunch. Professor Dumbledore will give me a lecture for that." She left the tree and began walking back to the castle. Professor Snape also got up from his spot and went after her.  
  
"Lecture? Why would he give you a lecture?" Professor Snape asked.  
  
"Because he likes to sometimes speak to me as if I'm his daughter." Professor Alabaster stated.  
  
She walked away, giving Professor Snape the impression that their conversation was now over. He allowed her to leave without saying anything back to her, in hopes that he could be on better terms with her. It would take time to repair the damage. After she was more comfortable speaking with him, she may begin to confide in him. He could invite her to sit by him at dinner that night. Maybe talk to her some more; maybe find out why she was chosen over him to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. 'Yes.' He thought to himself. 'If all goes according to plan, if I play my cards right, she may let something slip.' It would take time to get her to speak with him again, and even more time to get her to open up. But he was willing and determined to put in that time. 


	3. Halloween Mistake

The Halloween feast was, as it always had been, delightful for Kya. With the provided entertainment, everyone was too distracted to notice Professor Snape offer a seat to Professor Alabaster. She was in too good a mood to refuse. She felt nothing could set her off that night.  
  
Professor Snape was encouraged by Professor Alabaster's acceptance of his invitation. He thought that perhaps after dinner, he could pull her aside and get her talking. Soon, she would be speaking to him as she did with all the other faculty members, and her short-lived career would end after the truth was out. Even the Headmaster would be convinced of her incompetence.  
  
The feast took hours with the entertainment, which was enjoyed by most. During dinner, it appeared that everyone was getting into the spirit of things. Everyone was involved in a game of "What the heck killed the Bloody Baron?" Many of the older years enjoyed making up charms and potions that would have described resultes that made the younger years do a double take with Snape and Flitwick. While Professor Flitwick would laugh at the more absurd charms, thus giving away the hoax of the more gruesome tales, Snape ended up with more shaking students in one sitting than in an entire week of first years. He neither confirmed or denied the tales some came up with, but instead gave cryptic answers such as "There are some things they won't teach to Hogwarts students."  
  
Soon, students and teachers alike were ready to leave, all feeling very full, to get a good nights rest. There was a note of excitement in the air since the start of the Quidditch season was to take place the following day. It was always Slytherin versus Gryffindor. The rivalry between the two houses always fueled the players on the field as well as the crowd.  
  
As he saw all the students just about gone from the Great Hall, Professor Snape caught up to Professor Alabaster.  
  
"Professor, I'm wondering if you would join me in my office for some tea." Professor Snape said as politely as only Professor Snape could.  
  
"I'm not sure. I am pretty tired." Professor Snape could see that she was trying to be courteous, but he noted the hint of annoyance with him. He was positive that if they didn't speak tonight, he might never get the opportunity again. If she truly was tired, than she would more likely make more mistakes, and something he could use against her may slip out.  
  
"Please. I insist." Professor Snape finally said.  
  
Reluctantly, Professor Alabaster agreed. She thought to herself that if one sign of trouble appears, she could always leave his presence and arrange to change classrooms to avoid him.  
  
Professor Snape led the way to his office. As they entered, Professor Alabaster felt a chill go up her spine. Noticing this, Professor Snape lifted his wand and lit a fire to help her feel more comfortable and, hopefully, more open.  
  
A kettle appeared over the fire and the water within began to boil. Professor Snape turned to Professor Alabaster, "What kind would you like?"  
  
Professor Alabaster looked at him and said, "Doesn't make much difference. As long as there is no caffeine in it. I'd never get any sleep tonight."  
  
Professor Snape grabbed some tealeaves from the shelves behind him. Although he was more of a coffee drinker, and not much of a tea drinker, he did keep some for occasions when he needed to be relaxed.  
  
"Professor Alabaster. I asked you here tonight so that we may get this pointless feud out in the open and resolved. It will help neither of us in doing our jobs, and can make our jobs more difficult in the end." Professor Snape said, quite frankly.  
  
Professor Alabaster turned to him, and nodded her head in agreement. She didn't like the idea of having Professor Snape speaking in such a negative tone about her to her students, but she also didn't like the discomfort in having to see him around Hogwarts everyday, suspecting that he was up to no good. As a student, Kya had remembered that Professor Snape seemed unfair and cruel to those outside his house. Because of how many years he had been at Hogwarts, there was no changing him. The only reason she had yelled at him so was because she felt that, as authority figures, they should at least respect each other enough to form a solid foundation.  
  
Professor Snape handed a cup to Professor Alabaster, who took it, and blew across the top to cool it down. He than sat across the desk from her, holding his own, with no intention of drinking it.  
  
Kya looked up at him from her cup, "in order to do so, we need to get a few things straight."  
  
"Of Course." He responded.  
  
"I don't expect you to apologize for your behaviour."  
  
"My behaviour? And your own was more acceptable?" He started without waiting for her to finish.  
  
"Mine was behind closed doors and WITHOUT an audience."  
  
"Point taken. I have thought about what you said. Or rather yelled the other week." He began. "Perhaps you are right on some points." He noticed that once he had said that, a look of surprise came from the young woman across from him.  
  
"Why do you look so shocked?" Was all he said.  
  
"Well, that seemed to just come out of nowhere." She said, looking at him. "First you say that you thought of what I said, and than admitted that you were wrong on some points? Are you feeling ok?"  
  
Professor Snape could see that he had her undivided attention. "Don't feel flattered. I don't agree that I'm immature and unprofessional, but that you were right to be angry with me for my actions. I didn't try and get to know you professionally."  
  
Professor Alabaster put down her cup. "What would you like to know?"  
  
Surprised at her being so straight forward, he began to think of many questions he could ask. Perhaps he could get her to admit that she is not as qualified as he for the Defense Against the Dark Arts job sooner rather than later.  
  
"How long have you been studying the dark arts?"  
  
"Most of my life. I pretty much began when I was around 6 or 7 years old." She replied.  
  
"Why so young? I can't believe that your parents would allow such a thing." He said. 'Unless they were deatheaters, or something of the sort.' He thought.  
  
"My parents were killed when I was very young. I remember my guardians were killed shortly before I began to study it." She said, sounding a bit cautious. Snape took this as a sign that he was close to something that she didn't want to reveal.  
  
"What kind of experience do you have with what you teach?" He asked, making it sounding more like a challenge.  
  
"I'd rather not go into that." She simply stated. This intrigued him. Had she no experience with what she was teaching?  
  
"Or you'd rather not admit that you're unqualified, like I always suspected." A curiously happy look came about his face. That was all that was needed to enrage her again.  
  
"Did you invite me here to talk, or to insult me, Professor? I thought you wanted to clear up this feud." She was becoming angry again.  
  
He looked at her. Why had he just done that? He wanted to get some information. Now it seemed to be better if he had not done anything at all. It was not like him to mess up his plans like that. Trying to defend himself, he stood up, walked towards her, and stated, "I'm just wondering if I should give you the respect you think you deserve. Obviously I can see that you are incapable of what you do, and rely heavily on the books you teach from. Do you honestly think that. . ."  
  
SMACK  
  
The force of the impact shocked him. The next thing he knew, the door to his office was swaying and Professor Alabaster was nowhere in sight. 


End file.
